Lake Needs Appointed Schools Boss Like Polk's

THIS JUST IN

It would be too easy to say that the more things change, the more they remain the same.

But let's meander back to sometime around 1995 and 1996, when John A. Stewart was still directing the Polk County school system as its longtime superintendent.

The issue in Polk County then was what it is today in neighboring Lake: A superintendent urging voters to turn a political position into an appointive one.

Since his tenure in Polk, where he served for 13 years, Stewart has worked under former Education Commissioner Tom Gallagher and was the No. 2 leader in Pinellas County's school system.

He's now an executive with the Florida High School Athletic Association. But he still has an opinion about whether school superintendents should be elected or appointed. And he hasn't changed that opinion.

"I still support the appointive superintendent over the elective," he said the other day from his Gainesville office. "That's not to say there are no politics in an appointive superintendent."

Of course there are. But not the type that roll around every few years, forcing you to stump for votes and -- more dangerously -- beg for donations.

Polk's is Florida's eighth-largest school system and the 37th largest in the nation, with 149 schools, nearly 82,000 students, more than 10,000 employees and a budget nearing half a billion dollars. So its leader is like a corporate executive.

A school system's CEO, he said, "has to have political skills."

That is because of what he calls "the ugly side" of the political beast. You know, groups support you, give you campaign contributions, then expect you to be beholden to them. Then there's something they want, and they remind you of their generosity last time around. Wink, wink.

"You just kind of shudder when that happens," he said, adding that many financial supporters were pure of heart, just friends backing someone with whom they agree politically. "But unions, groups like that, were always remembering November."

So in Polk, all these years later, there is a final elective superintendent, Jim Thornhill. The district is beginning the process of selecting an appointive replacement.

"It takes a while," Stewart said.

He wishes Lake Superintendent Pam Saylor well in her quest to have the position turned into an appointed one. She's meeting opposition from those who, as was the case in Polk, preferred retaining their ability to vote for a superintendent. It's a way of holding on to perceived rights.

And Stewart cautions that there are pitfalls either way. "There are no water-walkers out there," he said.

"Lake is no small county," he added. "It's growing at an exponential clip. There's still a large area north of Davenport that has no infrastructure."

The booming growth demands leadership coming from a single body, the School Board, he said. Otherwise, the public is left with a two-headed monster, each taking swipes at the other.

"The political beings of any government agencies are the elected boards," he said -- the city councils, the county commissions, the school boards, the Legislature. "Those are the entities that you hold responsible."